Several employees of DarwinAI have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence section after the iPhone manufacturer acquired the company earlier this year, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be named since the deal hasn’t been made public.
DarwinAI provides services to a variety of industries and has created AI technology for visually examining components during the production process. However, one of its primary technologies is reducing the size and speed of artificial intelligence systems. Apple, which is focusing on implementing AI on devices rather than just in the cloud, may find value for this effort.
As part of the agreement, Alexander Wong, an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo who assisted in founding the company, became a director in Apple’s AI group.
Apple, a Cupertino, California-based company, stated in response to inquiries regarding the transaction that it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time” but would not comment on its future plans.
The announcement caused a brief rise in Apple shares, which went up more than 1% to $173.37. As of 1:29 p.m. in New York, it was trading at $172.92, down around 10% for the year.
As of 2022, DarwinAI, situated in Waterloo, Ontario, had raised over $15 million, according to Communitech, a Canadian startup community. Among other venture capital firms, Honeywell Ventures and Inovia Capital invested in it. Communitech claims that the business has also collaborated with organizations like Intel Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
The quiet acquisition occurs before Apple makes a significant AI effort this year. The business is incorporating generative AI-the technology behind ChatGPT and other ground-breaking tools-into the iOS 18 program by introducing new functionality. Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that the business will “break new ground” in artificial intelligence this year, and a statement is anticipated as soon as the company’s global developers conference in June.
Apple remains behind its competitors in the generative AI market, even though it has purchased more AI startups than most in the last ten years. When OpenAI’s ChatGPT was introduced in 2022, it was completely unprepared, and with new capabilities, major rivals like Google and Microsoft Corp. have taken center stage.
Apple has begun incorporating generative AI internally, using the technology to help with customer support inquiries. Additionally, it intends to enhance its software with capabilities for automatically generating presentations and finishing text blocks. Additionally, Apple is developing a new version of Xcode, a programming tool, that will help developers in writing code using AI.
